The present invention relates to a device for storing fluidic materials, and particularly to a fluidic-material storage device usable for an ink-jet printer.
As non-impact type printers are less noisy during printing of characters or images and can perform color printing, they have been used in various fields. For example, an ink-jet printer wherein ink-droplets are ejected from a number of micro-nozzles provided in a printing head onto a material to be printed to carry out a printing operation, and particularly an on-demand type ink-jet printer wherein piezoelectric elements are used in the printing head, has recently prevailed, as an output device for personal computers or word processors, because it can print on a plain paper and the printer body thereof is small.
On the other hand, impact type printers have relatively simple structures which makes the maintenance thereof easy and have advantages in running cost due to, e.g., an inexpensive ink ribbon, and thus have widely been used as printers for industrial use, such as a printer for printing on a bankbook or a slip in a bank (hereinafter referred to as a bankbook printer). Nowadays, however, even in the field of bankbook printers, requirements have been risen for, e.g., noise reduction, small size and an improvement in operation time (i.e., a time period required for user""s operation between the introducing of a bankbook into the printer and the retaking thereof after it is printed). Therefore, it becomes difficult to satisfy these requirements with the impact type printer.
One problem to be solved when an ink-jet printer is used as an industrial printer is a capacity of an ink storage section. Since the frequency of use of the industrial printer is remarkably larger than that of the personal printer, it is desired for the ink storage section of the industrial printer to have a sufficient capacity, so as to increase ink-replenishment intervals and reduce an ink-replenishment load.
Conventionally, as an ink storage section provided for an ink-jet printer, a head-mount type mounted on a printing head and a separate type placed apart from the printed head have been known. The head-mount type ink storage section has an advantage that an ink-supply passage connecting the ink storage section with the printing head is short and ink in the ink-supply passage is thus hardly influenced by inertia when the printing head is moving. However, it is generally difficult to increase the capacity of the ink storage section of this type since the dimensions and weight of the ink storage section directly influence the mobility of the printed head. Accordingly, the ink-jet printer for the industrial use generally uses a separate-type ink storage section of which the capacity can be easily increased.
In either of the head-mount or separate ink storage section, a cartridge type ink tank is usually adopted, which is detachably mounted in relation to an ink-supply system of the printer, to facilitate the ink replenishment work. In the cartridge type ink tank, a sleeve-like ink outlet formed in a tank wall is sealed by a easily-breakable seal member, so as to prevent ink from leaking through the ink outlet during stocking and transportation of the tank. On the other hand, a coupler including a connecting tube element with a tapered tip end is placed at one end of the ink-supply passage of the ink-jet printer. When the ink tank is attached to the ink-supply system, the seal member is pierced by the connecting tube element of the coupler to open the ink outlet and, simultaneously, the ink is discharged through the connecting tube element into the ink-supply passage.
The seal member provided to the ink outlet of the conventional ink tank is composed of a rubber packing inserted into the ink outlet and a seal plate arranged outside the packing to cover the ink outlet. The packing is previously provided with an aperture capable of tightly receiving the connecting tube element. The connecting tube element is inserted into the aperture of the packing immediately after piercing the seal plate, so that the ink outlet is opened and sealed to the connecting tube element.
According to this structure, however, the ink has already permeated between the seal plate and the packing through the aperture of the packing before the seal plate is pierced, and therefore, a problem arises in that a small amount of ink leaks the instant the seal plate is pierced.
Incidentally, in an ink-jet printer for industrial use, a storage section for a washing liquid used for washing the nozzles and/or of a waste ink sucked and removed from the nozzles is sometimes provided, as fluidic-material storage sections other than the ink storage section, in a maintenance mechanism for eliminating nozzle clogging. In this case, the ink storage section as well as a washing-liquid storage section and a waste-ink storage section have their respective replenishment/replacement intervals different from one another, and thus are generally provided in the printer independently from one another. Consequently, the replenishment/replacement work of the fluidic materials becomes troublesome, and if cartridge type tanks are used for various fluidic materials, a complicated management of the cartridges is required.
An object of the present invention is to provide a fluidic-material storage device detachably coupled to a fluid passage system, which can effectively prevent the possible leakage of fluidic materials when it is attached to the fluid passage system.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a fluidic-material storage device usable as an ink storage section detachably coupled to an ink-supply system of an ink-jet printer, which can effectively prevent the possible leakage of ink when it is attached to the ink-supply system.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a fluidic-material storage device usable as a storage section for various fluidic materials in an ink-jet printer, which can simplify the replenishment and replacement works of various fluidic materials.
A yet further object of the present invention is to provide the above types of fluidic-material storage device which can be used as a large capacity ink storage section detachably mounted to an ink-jet printer apart from a printing head thereof.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide an ink-jet printer provided with the above types of fluidic-material storage device, which can be used as an industrial printer such as a bankbook printer.
To accomplish the above objects, the present invention provides a fluidic-material storage device, comprising a body including a plurality of compartments capable of storing various fluidic materials in a classified manner; fluid-passing portions provided respectively in the compartments of the body to communicate the compartments with an external fluid-passage system; first breakable seal members provided respectively in the fluid-passing portions to interrupt fluid flow in the fluid-passing portions; and second seal members provided in the fluid-passing portions to respectively cover the first seal members, the second seal members including apertures for permitting access to the first seal members.
In the above fluidic-material storage device, it is preferred that the second seal members are formed from rubber packings.
The present invention also provides a fluidic-material storage device for an ink-jet printer incorporating therein a reciprocatingly movable printing head provided with a plurality of nozzles for ejecting ink droplets and a fluid-passage system including an ink supply passage for the printing head and other various fluids passages, the device comprising a body detachably connected to the fluid-passage system, the body including a plurality of compartments capable of storing ink and other various fluidic materials in a classified manner; fluid-passing portions provided respectively in the compartments of the body to communicate the compartments with the fluid-passage system; first breakable seal members provided respectively in the fluid-passing portions to interrupt a fluid flow in the fluid-passing portions; and second seal members provided in the fluid-passing portions to respectively cover the first seal members, the second seal members including apertures for permitting an access of the fluid-passage system to the first seal members.
In the above fluidic-material storage device, it is preferred that the second seal members are formed from rubber packings.
It is also advantage that the compartments of the body constitute ink storage sections connected to the ink supply passage.
In this arrangement, it is preferred that at least one of the compartments of the body constitutes a storage section for a washing liquid used for washing the nozzles of the printing head.
Alternatively, it is preferred that at least one of the compartments of the body constitutes a storage section for a waste ink removed from the nozzles of the printing head.
The present invention further provides an ink-jet printer, comprising a reciprocatingly movable printing head provided with a plurality of nozzles for ejecting ink droplets; a fluid-passage system including an ink supply passage for the printing head and other various fluids passages; and a fluidic-material storage device for storing ink and other various fluidic materials, the fluidic-material storage device being detachably connected to the fluid-passage system; the fluidic-material storage device comprising a body including a plurality of compartments capable of storing ink and other various fluidic materials in a classified manner; fluid-passing portions provided respectively in the compartments of the body to communicate the compartments with the fluid-passage system; first breakable seal members provided respectively in the fluid-passing portions to interrupt a fluid flow in the fluid-passing portions; and second seal members provided in the fluid-passing portions to respectively cover the first seal members, the second seal members including apertures for permitting an access of the fluid-passage system to the first seal members.
In the above ink-jet printer, it is preferred that the second seal members of the fluidic-material storage device are formed from rubber packings.
It is also advantage that the compartments of the body of the fluidic-material storage device constitute ink storage sections connected to the ink supply passage.
In this arrangement, the fluidic-material storage device may be placed apart from the printing head, and the ink supply passage may be formed of a flexible tube extending between the ink storage sections of the fluidic-material storage device and the printing head.
It is also preferred that at least one of the compartments of the body of the fluidic-material storage device constitutes a storage section of a washing liquid used for washing the nozzles of the printing head.
Alternatively, it is preferred that at least one of the compartments of the body of the fluidic-material storage device constitutes a storage section of a waste ink removed from the nozzles of the printing head.
The ink-jet printer as described above may be used as a bankbook printer.